Marine app out now

There’s something new and blue in the app stores called the Bunurong Marine National Park Field Guide. Jointly produced by Parks Victoria and the museum, the app is released to coincide with celebrations of the tenth anniversary of marine national parks in Victoria. Nearly 12% of the state’s waters are protected in parks, sanctuaries and reserves that are managed by Parks Victoria, including Bunurong Marine National Park, which is located between Phillip Island and Wilsons Promontory.

The Bunurong Marine National Park Field Guide is free to download and contains information on over 300 species of marine and coastal animals and plants, including stunning images, many of which were taken by Museum Victoria scientists whilst diving in the park. It also includes park information and activities that may interest visitors. Maps and a gallery of the location, marine life and habitats are provided.

Bunurong Marine National Park covers more than 2,000 hectares and extends along six kilometres of coastline. Above the water magnificent rock formations form the shore, while below, seaweed reefs are so dense that the experience is like swimming over the top of a rainforest canopy. The park is popular for rock pooling, while its extensive underwater rocky reefs, seaweed beds and seagrass meadows are excellent for diving and snorkelling. People exploring the nearby coastline will also benefit from the app. Many of the species occur at places like San Remo, Cape Paterson, Andersons Inlet, Waratah Bay and Wilsons Promontory.

If you’re lucky, your park experience may be as surprising as mine during the making of the app. Off Shack Bay I was head-butted by a Bluethroat Wrasse. Surely only in a marine park could a fish be so cheeky as if to say "nick off, this is my turf!"

We've reached another milestone with this app as it available for both iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad mini, iPad) and for Android devices (phones and tablets). For those who have been waiting on Museum Victoria’s Field Guide to Victorian Fauna app to be released for Android – that’s our next project, so watch this space. And enjoy the Bunurong app in the meantime!

Bunurong Marine National Park Field Guide is built on Museum Victoria’s open source Genera code for producing field guides. The app can be downloaded free from the iTunes App Store for iDevices and Google PlayTM Store for Android.